Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts

The Royal Arts Museum is made up of the Musée d’Art Ancien (Museum of Ancient Art) and Musée d’Art Moderne (Museum of Modern Art). Spanning seven centuries, it forms one of the most complete collections in Europe.

It is particularly praised for it’s collection of paintings by the Flemish Primitive artists that were active between the 15th and 16th centuries. Look out for masterpieces like: Rogier van der Weyden’s ‘Portrait of Anthony of Burgundy’, ‘The Justice of Emperor Otto the Ordeal by Fire’ panels by Dieric Bouts, Hans Memling’s ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian’ and ‘The Census at Bethlehem’ painted by perhaps the best Primitive of them all, Pieter Brueghel the Elder.

For works produced after the 18th century, cross over to the Musée d’Art Moderne. Here you’ll find: the famous ‘Death of Marat’ by Jacques-Louis David, Fernand Khnopff’s ‘Caresses’, James Ensor’s chilling ‘Shocked Masks’, works by Surrealist Paul Delvaux and Impressionists Théo van Rysselberghe and Henry van de Velde.

Do allow for the fact that certain areas may be closed off for renovation and that some paintings may be removed for maintenance.